CARLSBAD: Sewage spill at lagoon is now at 9,000 gallons

A broken pipe caused a 9,000-gallon, sewage spill Sunday into the Batiquitos Lagoon and Ponto Beach in Carlsbad, according to officials.

The spill was reported about 8 a.m. Sunday and county health officials posted signs around the coastal wetlands area near the Carlsbad-Encinitas city line warning of the contamination, according to the county's Department of Environmental Health.

Those signs will remain in place until samples confirm the water is safe for recreational use, officials said.

About a quarter mile of the trail east of Gabbiano Lane at the lagoon's west end was closed Sunday so Carlsbad Utilities Department employees could make repairs to the sewer pipe break at the Batiquitos pump station, officials said.

Officials originally reported Sunday morning that an estimated 2,000 gallons of sewage had spilled. They reported Sunday night that a total of 9,000 gallons had spilled.